Writer and artist, Yves Bess Golden, recalls the 2010s era of queer NYC nightlife she came of age in and the community that changed her life. Born in Rochester, NY, Yves describes growing up surrounded by artists and community builders and the acute loneliness she experienced throughout her childhood. Yves shares how it felt to “wake up” upon moving to NYC for college and the bodily exploration and comfort she discovered in fashion and thrifting. Yves began exploring the underground queer nightlife scene in college where trans women were the subversive creators – not ornaments – of nightlife and shares her memories of those legendary parties at The Spectrum. As a performance artist and DJ, Yves has performed at The Whitney and MoMA PS1 among other places, and discusses the politics, pressures, and labor contained within queer visibility. Yves also shares her personal experiences traveling abroad as a Black trans woman and the state-sanctioned violence she faced while attending an artist residency in Senegal. Yves is the author of Yves Ide Solstice and cofounder of the Herbal Mutual Aid Network.